If the south had won the civil war what do you think would have changed?

The Man

As there would not have been a stong U.S.A, the Germans would have prevailed in WWI and we all would be in trouble.

Shay

There would be a lot more "y'all" instead of "you guys", that's for sure! :o)

jpj

Wow. It's sad to read the answers to this question. A lot of good liberal talking points are being recited. However, why is it that very little informed speculation is taking place? The Southern states were the first to try to free the slaves. That's just one little freebie. Now, first of all, in the North, the US would have continued on probably much like it has. A country without a constitution. The Southern constitution had two changes, but other than that, was almost identical to the original. A president could only serve one six-year term. No pandering for re-election the first four years. And the option of a line-item veto in budget bills. The President would have been able to cut much of the pork out, avoiding the spoils system the Republican party was railroading through Congress. Those are the things we know. Anything else is pure speculation. I assume their would have been eventual treaties between the two nations and free trade as well. The U.S. would probably provide the industry with the C.S. providing the agriculture. But the most important thing that might've changed in the north: U.S. citizens would have a place to go if they wanted that form of government the fathers had set up before the high jacking of the constitution took place.

vanamont7

Just two political entities.

They could've done it without firing a shot but decided to go with the sword rather than the pen.

They still could, in fact.

It's a continent. Not a homogenous people. Look at Europe and how long they've been at war with one another for the longest. A relative peace in the last few decades or so.

Wolfpacker

The war started when Pres. Buchanan (side bar -the only gay president) promised to deliver supplies to Ft Sumter with no military action & immediately upon entering area demanded surrender of Fort Sumter.
The lack of intergrity I think changed history. Slavery would have been removed, unfortunately later. We would have

It is believed the South would have gone with defense of Britian & France as they symphatized with them. The North has a lot of German ancestry & would have sided with Germany & Hitler.

The South would have freed slaves for economic reasons. The South now has a better relationship with Balcks. They live economically better. The North has more slums that blacks live in. Although the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery. Slavery existed before the country was formed in all states. Lincoln would not even allow blacks to join the Union army, since the North was so opposed.

We could be one or two republics. Life would be different. Most historians believe the goverment would be smaller esp. the IRS.

Erik B

The south had one of the greatest and most respected armies in the world. They most certainly did stand a chance.

I think slavery would have still ended eventually. It was pure evil and other countries around the world were slowly doing away with it.

I think we'd have a much smaller federal government today and we'd be more into states rights and individual rights.

Maybe we'd stay a confederacy or maybe we'd eventually return to a federal system. I'm not sure about that one.

It would be really interesting though; that's for sure.

Alex F

there would be a north and south us not one us.

Gonzo Zappa-Vonnegut

We'd all be slaves to the plantation owners by now, regardless of color, creed, etc., etc.

Oops. Never mind. Reality check.

I guess the South really did win the civil war. They just did it a hundred-forty years late and they were (barely) smart enough to keep their mouths shut about it.

Author Kurt Vonnegut has some interesting things to say about Yale University and plantation owners. He says "Yale is where all the plantation owners go to learn to keep the natives busy killing each other instead of them."

Kurt Vonnegut for President!

rickthewonderalgae

Slavery would have been in place a lot longer, and since their economy was essentially a house of cards that was crumbling even before the war, they would have eventually become akin to a third world nation.

GrapeApe33

Slavery would still be in exsistance...We would have a hard time saying we are the land of the free...

fredthedog52

Whoblitzell is right, the south never had a chance of winning the war. Lee knew this from the start. What he was trying to do was to force the north to negotiate a end to the war. Slavery would have been done away with anyway. That's not what the war was about. It was about state rights. The south wanted the states to have the final say so on laws and not the federal government. If Lee had won at Gettysburg, Lincoln would have been forced to negotiate how much power the states would have.

quiet

They never stood a chance of winning, so the question is moot.

Kutekymmee

Theres a good movie about it, called "CSA: Confederate States of America". It just came out earlier this year, should be on DVD by now.

NA A

Yes.

bigtony615

There is a book on this subject, I don't recall the author.

I would assert the country would continue to fragment in both the Union and the Confederacy. Eventually the fragments would have turned to foreign powers for aid and North America would have been recolonized by European powers.

randomdude

Ummmm....... Everything!

chuckie411

I think that the most unfortunate consequence would have been civil rights. We would be much much further behind in the advancement of equality if the South had won.

Also, the federal government would be much weaker because a state could threaten to secede from the nation anytime it had a major disagreement with the government.

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